Crochet over a Button

If regular plastic buttons are spoiling the effect of your crochet lacework, or you have leftover yarn that you would like to use up after making a cardigan or shrug, then crochet over a button.

While the pattern itself is quite simple, the tight angles could be hard to work. It might be handy to have a smaller sized hook or a steel hook to draw up loops before working the stitch, but this might only occur if you are using thread-weight yarns. Whatever the challenge, I feel the effort is worthwhile given what a stunning effect they have on a piece of clothing.

Pick a button that is slightly smaller than the circular swatch produced by the first row of dcs. It doesn’t have to be a button; flat-ish beads, coins, disc magnets have all successfully worked, as has polyfill stuffing.

Pattern

Row 1: work ch2 and 12 dc in magic ring. Place button over work and continue working next rows over it. If the button/bead/disc has a hole, pass the loose thread resulting from tightening the magic ring through and use to fasten off work at the end. (I even use this to secure button to the item of clothing.)

Row 2: ch1, *sc in first dc, sc2tog in next two dcs*, repeat ** until end

Row 3: sc2tog until button is covered. Fasten off.

If you prefer charts, here it is:

This works best if your filler button/bead is just slightly smaller than the first rows of dc worked into the magic ring. Too small, and your button will be loose and floppy, but too large and you will find it hard to draw up a loop. This issue can be fixed by working another row of 2dc in each dc before using sc reductions.

These look especially good on crocheted collars:

Crochet over a button

Pattern to crochet of a button

This collar was made using size 20 crochet thread and a 1.5mm hook. Inside is a salvaged wooden bead.

I like them so much that I broke my cardinal rule once (form follows function) and even used it decoratively: